Coming in 2024: ‘Deadpool,’ ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Beetlejuice’

Another year. A lot more movies.

We’ll be getting so many cinematic works throughout 2024 that we can’t touch on all of them. In picking 20 to highlight, we have stuck with those that had official release dates, even though dates are always subject to change.

That means some of the films are streaming offerings, as those tend to get firm places on calendars closer to their releases. Similarly, we don’t know all that much about several of the films that will hit late in 2024 and be part of the Academy Awards discussion a year from now.

What we do have, though, is a collection of flicks that, for one reason or another, are worth a mention.

1.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” | July 26 | Theaters

Commonly referred to as “Deadpool 3,” this will be, well, the third entry in the series and the follow-up to 2018’s “Deadpool 2.” Ryan Reynolds will return as Wade Wilson and his equally foul-mouthed titular antihero, while Hugh Jackman will, for the umpteenth time, portray mutant hero Wolverine. That’s especially fun considering a very different Deadpool, albeit one played by Reynolds, faced off against Jackman’s Wolverine in 2009’s forgettable “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” It also is said that the movie will — unsurprisingly given the shift in studio ownership over the last several years — bring Deadpool into Disney-owned Marvel Studios’ Marvel Cinematic Universe. Boy, wait til the MCU gets a load of him.

2.

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” | March 29 | Theaters

The ghost-fighting heroes introduced in 2021’s largely enjoyable action-comedy “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” — characters played by actors including Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon — join forces with those portrayed by franchise vets such as Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Annie Potts in this adventure that sees a supernatural freeze threat hit New York City in the summer. While “Afterlife” director Jason Reitman returns as a co-writer, he’s handed over the helm to his co-writer, Gil Kenan (“Monster House”). The movie is said to be dedicated to Ivan Reitman, the father of Jason and the director of 1984’s “Ghostbusters” and 1989’s “Ghostbusters II,” who died in early 2022 at age 75.

“Joker: Folie a Deux” | Oct. 4 | Theaters

OK, we had hoped the version of DC Comics Clown Prince of Darkness portrayed so memorably by Joaquin Phoenix In 2019’s Todd Phillips-directed “Joker” — an effectively dark character study and origin story — somehow could end up being the Caped Crusader’s adversary in the new movie series begun with filmmaker Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” in 2022. Instead, Phillips and Phoenix are back with this … musical thriller? No doubt much of that music will come courtesy of pop star and actress Lady Gaga (“A Star Is Born”), who joins the wild fray as the Joker’s traditional love interest, Harley Quinn. (Fear not, Zazie Beetz fans — she returns as Sophie Dumond.) We’re eagerly awaiting the first trailer for this film, which falls under the DC Elseworlds label, meaning it is not part of the new DC Universe.

4.

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” | March 29

| Theaters

If you’ve just finished watching the almost surprisingly strong debut season of “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” on Apple TV+, you may be invested in Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures’ MonsterVerse like never before. Fortunately, you won’t have to wait long for your next big serving. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” is the seventh big-screen MonsterVerse affair and the sequel to 2021’s guilty-pleasure effort “Godzilla vs. Kong” from director Adam Wingard. Wingard returns for “x,” which clearly will reunite the heroic Titans, who this time will team up against a new monster threat. The cast boasts returnees Brian Tyree Henry and Rebecca Hall along with newcomer Dan Stevens. And as we don’t see any of the “Monarch” cast listed as appearing, we hope the “x” folks are keeping that under wraps — and/or that we get a second season of the show.

5.

“Mufasa: The Lion King”

| Dec. 20 | Theaters

“Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk” director Barry Jenkins is at the helm of this live-action, digital imagery-heavy prequel to 2019’s similarly made “The Lion King,” a remake of the 1994 animated favorite. Writer Jeff Nathanson returns, as do voice actors Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner and John Kani, as Pumbaa, Timon and Rafiki, respectively, while the titular younger Mufasa is voiced by Aaron Pierre and his duplicitous brother, Scar, by Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the musical drama.